The irrational use of antibiotics is increasing in Jordanian refugee camps and consequently so too is bacterial resistance. About one-third of health expenditures at UNRWA health centers in Jordan are attributed to antibiotics. OBJECTIVE: We studied knowledge, attitude and behaviour of Palestine refugees attending UNRWA health centers in Jordan regarding antibiotic use in order to plan public health interventions accordingly. METHODS: A cross-sectional, interviewer-administered survey among 250 adult Palestine refugees at four different health centres was conducted...

Circuit level brain dysfunction has been suggested as a common mechanism through which diverse genetic risk factors and neurobiological sequelae lead to the core features of autism spectrum disorder (Geschwind 2009; Port et al. 2014). An important mediator of circuit level brain activity is lateral inhibition, and a number of authors have suggested that lateral inhibition may be atypical in ASD. However, evidence regarding putative atypical lateral connections in ASD is mixed. Here we employed a steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) paradigm to further investigate lateral connections within a group of high functioning adults with ASD...

This article presents a snapshot of my experience of being a nurse who became a service user with breast cancer. It begins by outlining the Humanization of Healthcare Framework ( Todres et al, 2009 ), which is a values-based context that can be used to underpin daily care. Generic applications for each of the dimensions of the framework are suggested. This framework is then used to contextualise my experience of receiving my diagnosis and the ensuing chemotherapy. Using examples from my personal narrative, I make some recommendations for 'small actions' that can contribute to more humanised and person-centred care...

AIM: to explore the nature of leadership styles used by the nursing management team, as perceived by nurses working at the bedside. BACKGROUND: leadership style is related to job satisfaction, staff retention, costs, and quality of care. The leadership styles of managers can be crucial in the healthcare setting, but very few studies have focused on them. METHOD: the study employed qualitative methodology, involving 35 nurses working in different specialties of a medical city in Saudi Arabia...

Heart failure (HF) has been referred to as the cardiovascular epidemic of our time. Understanding the molecular determinants of HF disease progression and mortality risk is of utmost importance. In this issue of the JCI, Zhang et al. uncover an important link between clinical HF mortality risk and a common variant that regulates SCN5A expression through microRNA-dependent (miR-dependent)mechanisms. They also demonstrate that haploinsufficiency of SCN5A is associated with increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a genetically engineered murine model...

Orthorhombic Nb$_2$O$_5$ (T-Nb$_2$O$_5$) has structural merit but poor electrical conductivity, limiting their applications in energy storage. Although graphene is frequently adopted to effectively improve its electrochemical properties, the ordinary modified methods cannot meet the growing demands for high-performance. Here, we demonstrate that different graphene modified routes play a vital role in affecting the electrochemical performances of T-Nb$_2$O$_5$. By only manual shaking within one minute, Nb$_2$O$_5$ nano-particles can be rapidly adsorbed onto graphene, then the free-anchored T-Nb$_2$O$_5$@graphene three-dimensional networks (NG-3D) can be successfully prepared based on hydrogel method...

The positive effects of physical activity on bone strength are certain. However, researchers have yet to precisely quantify the contribution of specific characteristics of physical activity that affect bone strength in children and adolescents. This commentary highlights 2 noteworthy 2017 publications that addressed osteogenic physical activity dose-response issues. Both papers moved the field forward by providing new insights on physical activity exposures beyond high-impact loading. Koedijk et al's paper was selected because, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first systematic review to solely examine associations between sedentary behavior and indicators of bone strength...

The H+ + H2 reaction and its isotopic variants as the simplest triatomic ion-molecule reactive system have been attracting much interests, however there are few studies on the titled reaction at state-to-state level until recent years. In this work, accurate state-to-state quantum dynamics studies of the titled reaction have been carried out by a reactant Jacobi coordinate-based time-dependent wave packet approach on diabatic potential energy surfaces constructed by Kamisaka et al. Product ro-vibrational state-resolved information has been calculated for collision energies up to 0...

Halloysite (Al2 Si2 O5 (OH)4 ·nH2 O) nanotubes (HNTs) are natural clay materials and widely applied in many fields due to their natural hollow tubular structures. Many in vitro studies indicate that HNTs exhibit a high level of biocompatibility, however the in vivo toxicity of HNTs remains unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the hepatic toxicity of the purified HNTs in mice via oral route. The purified HNTs were orally administered to mice at 5, 50, and 300 mg/kg body weight (BW) every day for 30 days...

It is well known that, across languages, certain phonological features are more frequent than others. But whether these facts reflect abstract universal markedness constraints or functional pressures (auditory and articulatory difficulties and lexical frequency) is unknown. Romani, Galuzzi, Guariglia, and Goslin (2017) report that the putative markedness of phonological features captures their order of acquisition and their propensity to elicit errors in patients with an apraxia of speech (but not in phonological aphasia)...

BACKGROUND: The role of nutrients and dietary factors in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remains unclear. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to evaluate the serum vitamin D level in children with a diagnosis of ADHD. The secondary objective was to detect the effect of vitamin D supplementation on cognitive function in those with vitamin D deficiency. METHODS: A total of 50 children with ADHD and 40 healthy controls were included in the study...

Cook et al. recently described a progressive model for teaching children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to provide eye contact with an instructor following a name call. The model included the following phases: contingent praise only, contingent edibles plus praise, stimulus prompts plus contingent edibles and praise, contingent video and praise, schedule thinning, generalization assessments, and maintenance evaluations. In the present study, we evaluated the extent to which modifications to the model were needed to train 15 children with ASD to engage in eye contact...

Recently, organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites (OIHP) are studied in memory devices, but ternary resistive memory with three states based on OIHP is not achieved yet. In this work, ternary resistive memory based on hybrid perovskite is achieved with a high device yield (75%), much higher than most organic ternary resistive memories. The pseudohalide-induced 2D (CH3 NH3 )2 PbI2 (SCN)2 perovskite thin film is prepared by using a one-step solution method and fabricated into Al/perovskite film/indium-tin oxide (glass substrate as well as flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate) random resistive access memory (RRAM) devices...

The Smurf Assay (SA) was initially developed in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster where a dramatic increase of intestinal permeability has been shown to occur during aging (Rera et al. , 2011). We have since validated the protocol in multiple other model organisms (Dambroise et al. , 2016) and have utilized the assay to further our understanding of aging (Tricoire and Rera, 2015; Rera et al. , 2018). The SA has now also been used by other labs to assess intestinal barrier permeability (Clark et al...

Background: Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing is a significant resistant mechanism to β-lactams in Enterobacteriaceae , especially in Klebsiella pneumoniae . The main objectives of this study were to genetically characterize urinary clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae through the investigating of blaTEM , blaCTX-M and using molecular typing by Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR) method. We also determined the frequency of antibiotic resistance of K...

Background: Cerebral aneurysms are a kind of cardiovascular diseases which are accompanied with high morbidity and mortality due to rupturing and causing subarachnoid hemorrhages. The current study aimed to determine epidemiologic and demographic features and prognosis of patients with cerebral aneurysms. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 465 patients with cerebral aneurysms hospitalized in Al-Zahra Hospital were studied. The required information including demographic, epidemiologic, and clinical features of the disease were extracted from their records...

Esthesioneuroblastomas are rare neuroectodermally derived neoplasms occurring in the upper nasal septum or cribriform plate. They have been rarely reported in other sites, when they are called ectopic esthesioneuroblastomas. Due to the scarcity of reports, publications and molecular/genetic studies of these tumours, their diagnosis is likely to be missed when they are ectopic. Similar to the case report in this journal by Zahedi et al., we had a case of neuroectodermally derived neoplasm of the tonsil, which was difficult to diagnose, due to the site of occurrence being unknown for these tumours...